Junior will miss the Chase for the Cup race on Oct. 13 in Charlotte and Oct. 21 in Kansas. That would put him back in time for the Oct. 28 race in Martinsville and, more importantly to the Texas crowd, the AAA Texas 500 on November 4 in Fort Worth.

Junior is currently in 11th in the Chase for the Cup standings, 51 points behind leader Brad Keselowski.

If you are NASCAR, this stinks. Junior may be a cash machine because of his daddy's name, but he is still the sport's most recognized name, moreso than Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson et all.